Kasie Harriet is the milkmaid at Shepherd Farms, where she and her husband Jacob are building a direct-to-consumer farm business that includes raw milk, sourdough, tallow skincare, and more, while managing cows in a rotational grazing setup and learning what it really takes to run a small dairy at the family scale.
 
In This Episode, We Explore:  

• Kasie’s path from FFA and wildlife work into farm life and dairy cows  
• Why they pursued raw milk and how that led to buying their first family milk cow  
• Lessons learned from a first cow that tested positive for bacteria and how they handled it  
• Setting up a movable, low-cost milking stanchion and why “you don’t need a lot to do a lot”  
• Hand milking vs machine milking and the real-world importance of equipment that is easy to clean  
• Calf sharing, grafting a calf, and how that can add flexibility to dairy cow ownership  
• Selling excess milk, managing weekly customers, and handling jars and deposits  
• What to look for when buying a milk cow: testing, temperament, training, feeding history, and more  
• Using Facebook to educate customers, build trust, and grow a local direct-to-consumer community  

Why This Episode Matters 
If you are considering a family milk cow or selling raw milk direct-to-consumer, this episode walks through the practical realities that often get skipped, including cow selection, sanitation concerns, equipment choices, customer management, and the setbacks that can happen even when you do things carefully. Kasie’s story is a grounded reminder to learn, adjust, and keep moving forward. 

Resources Mentioned  

• Keeping a Family Cow by Joann S. Grohman  
• Keeping a Family Milk Cow, holistic and organic (Facebook group)  

Find Out More  

• Shepherd Farms | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087351095567

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Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Jacob Harriet of Shepherd Farms shares how his background in wildlife management in central Oklahoma shaped the way he uses livestock, prescribed fire, and land restoration to build better habitat and a workable farm business. From starting on a small homestead to managing over 1,240 acres through creative lease agreements, Jacob walks through what has worked, what he learned the hard way, and how grazing fits into a broader land stewardship plan.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Jacob’s path from wildlife law enforcement to using livestock as a habitat tool
• Turning an over-timbered 80 acres into productive grazing and wildlife habitat
• Using rotational grazing to improve land function, manure distribution, and plant recovery
• Tree and timber management decisions focused on getting sunlight to the ground
• Prescribed fire vs mechanical clearing for controlling woody encroachment, especially cedar
• How burn associations, burn plans, and local support make prescribed fire safer and more practical
• Managing land for wildlife needs alongside grazing goals, including turkey and quail habitat
• Finding and using grants for infrastructure, water, timber work, and prescribed fire
• Building a mixed-species orchard and using chickens to manage pests and understory
• A lease model that trades professional habitat management for grazing access across multiple properties
• Tracking grazing and land work with mapping tools and documentation

Why This Episode Matters

This conversation is a practical look at connecting grazing, habitat, and land access in a way that works in the real world. If you are trying to improve a neglected property, reduce cedar pressure, learn why prescribed fire matters, or find a creative path to more grazing acres without buying land, Jacob’s approach offers clear ideas you can adapt to your own place.

Resources Mentioned

• Natural Resource University (podcast network)
• OnX Hunt Maps (phone app)
• NRCS (local office support for conservation programs and grants)
• National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF)
• Quail Forever
• Ty Ty Nursery (trees for the orchard)

Find Out More

• Shepherd Farms | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087351095567

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Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

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Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Glenn McCaig of Perry's Corners Farm returns to the Grazing Grass Podcast to talk through livestock systems that stay practical when you stop trying to perfect everything. Farming with his wife Megan and their three young children just outside Kitchener, Ontario, Glenn shares what is working on their sandy, rocky ground with Lynch Lineback cattle, English Large Black pigs, Clun Forest type sheep, and pastured poultry.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• What Lynch Lineback cattle are and why Glenn values a closed herd approach
• Calf-sharing milk cows and feeding milk to pigs as part of a whole-farm system
• A gilt-only farrowing system that simplifies pig management and tightens farrowing windows
• Selecting boars early using practical traits like teat count and mothering ability
• Farrowing in pens vs pasture, and what changed with labor, predator pressure, and piglet losses
• Using simple ear notching to make culling decisions faster and more consistent in sheep
• Closed-flock sheep management, prolific genetics, and handling triplets and quads
• The realities of wool marketing and why some wool is not worth saving
• Why Glenn went soy-free (and briefly corn-free) with pigs, and what he learned trying soy-free layers
• What migratory grazing changed for Glenn, and the cattle behavior he notices now
• A calendar-based way Glenn thinks about the summer slump, rest periods, and how hay decisions affect grazing

Why This Episode Matters
If you have ever felt like your livestock enterprise got harder the more you tried to fine-tune it, this episode gives a grounded look at simplifying without backing away from good management. Glenn lays out practical systems for pigs, sheep, and cattle that reduce moving parts, tighten decision making, and keep the farm working in real conditions like predator pressure, winter feeding, and limited labor.

Resources Mentioned

• Acres U.S.A. Podcast
• Barefoot Biodynamics by Jeff Poppen
• Steve Campbell (mentioned in context of clean minerals)
• Burke Teichert (quote referenced)

Find Out More

• Perry's Corners Farm | https://perryscornersfarm.ca
• Grazing Grass Community

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Redmond Agriculture

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Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Mason Lautenschlager and his wife Hannah run Arrow L Ranch near Berthold in northwest North Dakota, where they focus on grass-based enterprises including a cow-calf herd, some direct grass-finished beef, and selling multi-bred composite coming 2-year-old bulls developed on forage. 
 
In This Episode, We Explore:  

• Building a ranch back after his family sold out of farming and ranching  
• Buying cows at the top of the market and navigating the crash afterward  
• Shifting the whole operation toward lower labor and lower equipment intensity  
• Winter grazing decision-making around snow cover, forage quality, and flexibility  
• Bale grazing setup, timing, and what it changed on poorer soil areas  
• Water limitations, fencing lanes, and building a system for easier moves  
• Stockpiling forage and planning grazing around winter and spring needs  
• Increasing plant diversity through grazing management rather than seeding  
• Using forage clippings to estimate available dry matter per acre  
• Developing bulls on forage and selecting for longevity and fertility over max production  

Why This Episode Matters  
If winter feed, labor, and equipment costs are squeezing your operation, Mason’s story is a practical look at how constraints can force better systems. This conversation gets into the real tradeoffs of stockpile grazing versus bale grazing, how water and fencing design affect what is possible, and why selection for fertility and longevity can matter more than pushing production.  

Resources Mentioned  

• Agriculture Alberta video series: Managing Risk in Winter Grazing  
• Principled Land Managers grazing school (Bart Carmichael and Pat Guptill)  
• North Dakota Grazing Lands Coalition  
• DV Auction  
• Movie: Moneyball  
• Book: Lasater Philosophy of Cattle Raising (Tom Lasater)  

Find Out More  

• Arrow L Ranch Facebook page | https://www.facebook.com/arrowlranch
• DV Auction video catalog for the Arrow L Ranch bull sale (opens Feb 6, closes Feb 8 with a soft close)  | https://www.dvauction.com/video_catalogs/13210

Looking for grass-based breeders?
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Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

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Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Hayden and Taylor Sievers of Sievers Blumen Farm in the Brussels, Illinois area share how their farm has evolved from a cut-flower business into a growing grazing-focused cattle operation, alongside grain and hogs, while keeping an eye on family, profitability, and building a system that works on limited acres.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• How Sievers Blumen Farm got its name and the cut-flower beginnings behind the brand
• Farming in Calhoun County between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, and what that landscape means for grazing
• Converting a heavily tilled, flood-prone 80 acres into pasture over time while still cash cropping part of it
• Challenges of establishing pasture on heavy “black stick” clay and lessons learned with broadcast seeding and needing timely rain
• Using wheat followed by cover crops and pasture as a transition plan away from cash cropping
• Infrastructure choices including high-tensile perimeter fence, step-ins, reels, and thoughts on central alley layouts
• Moving from Dexters to South Pole-influenced cattle and what they noticed with fly pressure, forage efficiency, and easy-keeping traits
• Using cow-calf as a base herd while considering stockers and sell-buy marketing to capture excess forage
• Takeaways from stockmanship training, including receiving calves and getting them grazing quickly by focusing on mental and emotional state
• Raising meat chickens (including Red Rangers) and layers, plus building and using a chickshaw-style coop
• Taylor’s path into indie publishing, what she writes, and the discipline of finishing books while raising a family

Why This Episode Matters
If you are trying to make grazing work on limited acres or on land that is less-than-ideal, this conversation is a practical look at how a young family is building infrastructure, improving soil over time, selecting cattle that fit their system, and staying focused on profitability and quality of life instead of chasing too many enterprises at once.

Resources Mentioned

• Joel Salatin (Joe Rogan Podcast)
• Greg Judy (grazing and fencing approach)
• Jim Elizondo and total grazing concepts
• Hand ’n Hand sell-buy marketing class (Tina and Richard)
• Stockman Grass Farmer
• Working Cows podcast
• Ranching Returns podcast (formerly Herd Quitter podcast)
• Bud Williams stockmanship (referenced through stockmanship training)
• Dirt to Soil
• Braiding Sweetgrass
• For the Love of Soil
• The Creative Penn podcast (Joanna Penn)
• Wish I’d Known Then podcast
• The Two Authors podcast
• Justin Rhodes Chickshaw (mobile coop design)
• O’Brien step-in posts
• Taragate reels
• Meyer Hatchery
• McMurray Hatchery
• August Horstmann's Ranch (Missouri)

Find Out More

• Website | https://sieversblumenfarm.com
• Instagram | https://instagram.com/sieversblumenfarm
• Facebook | https://facebook.com/sieversblumenfarm
• YouTube | https://youtube.com/@sieversblumenfarm

Here is a discount code for our farm shop (https://sieversblumenfarm.com/shop) that listeners can use for 10% off. The code expires in July. GRAZINGGRASS26

Looking for grass-based breeders?
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Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

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Redmond Agriculture

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Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Jonathan Kilpatrick of Red Lantern Ranch and Kilpatrick Land & Livestock joins Cal to share what changed since he first appeared back on episode 2, including moving from Oklahoma to west central Minnesota (Alexandria area) and rebuilding a grazing operation from the ground up with sheep, goats, and pastured poultry.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• What prompted Jonathan and his family to move from Oklahoma to Minnesota and restart their operation
• Lessons Jonathan took from the Ranching for Profit School and how they shaped his decision-making
• Starting a grazing operation with a clean slate and building genetics that match the environment
• Grazing sheep and goats together and using goats as part of a buckthorn control strategy
• Outwintering sheep and goats with minimal infrastructure and what that requires
• Using adaptive grazing decisions that fit real life, time constraints, and family priorities
• Expanding from a 45-acre grazing lease by adding tillable acres and converting some to perennials
• Partnering with a regenerative crop farmer for strip-till or no-till, cover crops, and added grazing opportunities
• Mobile range coop pastured poultry production, daily moves, and labor efficiency
• Processing options, state-inspected processing, and why time is often the limiting resource
• Marketing channels including direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and opportunities in ethnic markets

Why This Episode Matters

If you are building or rebuilding a grazing business, Jonathan lays out a realistic path that balances production, business management, and family life. This conversation is a good reminder that experience matters, time is a real constraint, and matching livestock, grazing, and marketing to your context is what keeps the whole system working.

Resources Mentioned

• Ranching for Profit School
• Executive Link program (Ranching for Profit)
• Google Sheets
• Excel
• ChatGPT
• Gemini
• P.L. 90-492 (Poultry Products Inspection Act exemption referenced in the discussion)

Find Out More

• Red Lantern Ranch website | https://redlanternranch.com
• Kilpatrick Land & Livestock website | https://www.kilpatricklandandlivestock.com
• Sustainable Farming Association (SFA) | https://sfa-mn.org

Looking for grass-based breeders?
 Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
Noble Research Institute

Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Zach (first-generation) and Kacie (fifth-generation) Scherler-Abney are ranchers operating Re:Farm and Re:Supply in Cotton and Tillman Counties in southwest Oklahoma, running a cow-calf herd with some stockers while also managing land for others and operating retail stores in Norman, Oklahoma and Wichita Falls, Texas.  

In This Episode, We Explore:  

- How a personal health scare led them back to the family place and into raising their own food  

- Using an autoimmune protocol diet as a catalyst to question food labels and sourcing  

- Learning regenerative grazing through books, YouTube, and early hands-on trial and error  

- Grazing in a more brittle, variable rainfall environment in southwest Oklahoma and north Texas  

- Ultra high-density, non-selective grazing and why recovery time is the key variable for them  

- What polywire taught them, and why quality of life and labor forced a change  

- Building water systems with HDPE poly pipe, quick couplers, and central lanes for flexibility  

- Leasing strategies including Oklahoma state school land (CLO) and BIA tribal land leases  

- Transitioning to Halter virtual fencing and what changed in daily management and stress  

- How their cattle buying philosophy shifted to phenotype, productivity, and pounds per acre  

- Marketing reality checks: balancing direct-to-consumer beef with current sale barn economics  

- Why they built brick-and-mortar stores and how non-perishables help stabilize cash flow  

- Community-building through retail and sourcing other local products beyond their own beef  

Why This Episode Matters  

This conversation is a practical look at matching grazing goals to real life, especially when labor, family time, leases, and cash flow are all limiting factors. Zach and Kacie share what worked, what wore them out, what they changed, and how they think about staying flexible without abandoning the core principles that keep land and livestock improving.  

Resources Mentioned  

- Halter virtual fencing system  

- Passon quick couplers  

- Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office (CLO) grazing leases  

- Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) grazing leases  

Find Out More  

- Instagram | re:farm  

- Website | Re:Farm Market  

- Facebook | Re:Farm 

Looking for grass-based breeders?
 Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
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Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

Matt Goble joins the Grazing Grass Podcast to share how he’s built a profitable, resilient wool sheep operation in a high-elevation mountain valley using entirely private and marginal land. While working a full-time W-2 job, Matt manages 450 ewes with a strong focus on grazing efficiency, soil health, and thoughtful breeding decisions. His system blends management-intensive grazing, cover crops, and perennial pastures, all adapted to a short growing season and limited irrigation.

In this episode, we cover:

• Grazing irrigated pasture and marginal land in a mountain valley
• Using cover crops to build soil before establishing perennial pasture
• Managing sheep with daily and multi-day grazing moves
• Lambing systems, jug management, and efficiency at scale
• Breeding strategies for maternal traits and terminal lambs
• Using ear notching and simple visual systems to reduce decision fatigue
• Predator pressure and why net fencing matters for sheep
• Balancing stocking rates during drought years
• Adding chickens and turkeys to improve soil and diversify income
• Matching enterprise scale to land capacity and lifestyle goals

Why This Episode Matters:
This conversation is a clear example of how management, not acres, often determines success. Matt shows how intentional grazing, simple systems, and observation can double productivity without doubling land or inputs. His practical insights into lambing efficiency, breeding decisions, and drought planning offer valuable lessons for anyone managing livestock on limited or challenging ground.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Soil Owner’s Manual by John Stika
• The Art and Science of Shepherding (Premier 1 Supplies)
• Field Area Measure (mobile app)

Find Out More:

• Facebook: Dry Bottom Farms
• Snow College Agriculture Department (Utah)

Looking for grass-based breeders?
 Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

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Redmond Agriculture

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Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey

In this Field Notes episode, Cal slows things down to share a simple way to think about soil health principles that actually sticks when you’re in the pasture. Instead of another list to memorize, this episode introduces CRADLE, a practical framework that organizes well-known soil health principles into something easier to remember and apply in real-world conditions.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why soil health principles are easy to understand but hard to recall in real-world decision moments
• How context shapes the way soil health principles are applied on different operations
• How the core soil health ideas fit together through the CRADLE framework
• Where disturbance, soil cover, diversity, living roots, and livestock fit within that bigger picture
• A simple way to step back and diagnose what might be missing when things aren’t working as expected

What CRADLE stands for:

• C — Context
• R — Reduce Disturbance
• A — Armor on the Soil
• D — Diversity
• L — Living Roots
• E — Embrace Livestock

Why listen to this episode?

If you understand soil health principles but struggle to recall or apply them under real-world pressure, this episode gives you a mental model you can actually use. CRADLE helps move soil health from theory into day-to-day decision-making — without adding complexity.

Looking ahead

Next week’s Field Notes tackles a listener question on low-cost corral options, focusing on what actually matters, what you can skip, and practical ways to work animals safely without overspending on infrastructure.

Thanks to our partners

Field Notes is made possible by the continued support of Noble Research Institute and Redmond Agriculture. Their commitment to soil health education and stewardship helps make these conversations possible.

More grass. Better soil. Happier livestock.
Keep on grazing, and we’ll see you next week.

Looking for grass-based breeders?
 Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
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Redmond Agriculture

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Original Music by Louis Palfrey

In Episode 201 of the Grazing Grass Podcast, Cal Hardage sits down with Jacob Morin of Target Angus and Le Paysan Gourmand in Quebec. Jacob shares how a college humanities class unexpectedly set him on a path toward regenerative agriculture and how he and his family transitioned a conventional cow-calf operation into a diversified, grass-based farm. Together, they discuss intentional grazing, winter management in cold climates, infrastructure decisions that make daily moves possible, and how direct-to-consumer beef, market gardening, and livestock diversification work together to support the next generation on the farm.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Intentional grazing and adaptive decision-making
• Winter grazing and bale grazing in cold climates
• Grazing infrastructure: fencing, water systems, and daily moves
• Direct-to-consumer beef sales and pricing challenges
• Diversification with vegetables, hogs, and value-added products
• Transitioning family farms and planning for future generations
• Lessons learned from trial, error, and staying flexible

Why you should listen:
This episode is packed with real-world insight for producers navigating cooler climates, land constraints, and direct marketing. Jacob’s story highlights how thoughtful grazing, diversification, and intentional choices can build resilience—both in the soil and in the family running the operation. If you’re balancing tradition with change or looking for practical ideas to strengthen your grazing system, this conversation will resonate.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• Target Angus
• Le Paysan Gourmand
• Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin
• Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin
• The Bold Return of Giving a Damn by Will Harris

Looking for grass-based breeders?
 Explore the Grass Based Genetics directory.

Upcoming Grazing Events

• Noble Profitability Essentials - Jefferson City, Mo, March 24-25, 2026

Visit our Sponsors:
Noble Research Institute

Redmond Agriculture

Grazing Grass Links
Website
Community (on Facebook)

Original Music by Louis Palfrey